Rugby World Cup live scores: Springboks vs Namibia

 
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By The Roar, 22 Sep 2011

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    The Springboks take another step toward defending their Rugby World Cup crown tonight when they face Namibia in an all-African clash at North Harbour Stadium. Join us from the commencement at 6.00pm AEST for all of the live scores as they happen.

    For a side who were supposedly plagued by infighting and disunity leading into the tournament, the Springboks are doing a good job of keeping things together on the pitch.

    They may have squeaked home against Wales but they showed glimpses of their 2007 form last Saturday, completely dominating Fiji 49-3 in what was tipped to be a close encounter.

    Coach Peter de Villiers has resisted the temptation to rest his starters in a match that South Africa will comfortably win, making only five changes from the starting XV that toppled Fiji.

    Francois Hougaard, Willem Alberts and prop CJ van der Linde all come in while the Springboks also welcome back speedster Bryan Habana, but Victor Matfield will again be missing due to a hamstring complaint.

    Tonight they face one of the true minnows of the tournament in Namibia, although it must be said that the Namibians have significantly improved on their previous Rugby World Cup showings.

    Granted, the more fancied Fiji and Samoa have both had comfortable wins against them in their first two pool matches, but they have shown they are more than capable of holding their own up front, and have managed to score 37 points in their two matches.

    Johan Diergaardt has named six changes from the side who lost to Samoa, including Jacques Nieuwenhuis and Tinus du Plessis in the forwards, while Heine Bock will start on the wing.

    The Welwitschias are unlikely to mount any serious challenge for the win tonight, but motivation will be high with many of the Namibians plying their trade in South Africa, and they’ll be out to make an impact here.

    It will be the first time the two sides have ever met at a Rugby World Cup tournament, with the only match between the two sides taking place four years ago when the South Africans scored a punishing 105-13 victory.

    A similiar result is unlikely here, although the Springboks will view this as another important step as they build toward a likely quarter-final clash with the Wallabies.

    Australian supporters will be keen to see just how serious the threat posed by the Springboks actually is, and for that reason this is one that shouldn’t be missed. Join us from 6.00pm AEST as we cover all live scores from North Harbour Stadium.

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